We're Off

I did laundry, packed, and cleaned all day, and if that isn't enough, I did two plumbing projects. The shower faucet is now working, but the toilet I tried to fix now has an OUT OF ORDER sign on it. Lucky for the people staying here in our absence, we have more than one bathroom.

For the First Time in 40 Years

I've had a professional haircut.

(Is that pathetic, or what?)

Certification

Rachel has been waiting for this all summer.

Pray that God will open just the right doors for a job for Rachel and will help her through the process of securing her Texas certification now that she has her Oklahoma one in hand.

Jessie is Home

Rachel and Jessica

Rachel's childhood friend, Jessica, recently arrived home from a year in China so she joined us for dinner tonight. It was fun hearing about some of her adventures and getting her caught up on the local gossip, especially who's gotten married and had babies, etc. She was also excited because she had just gotten a new nursing job at Parkland Hospital, and thanks to Janet for clearing the red tape away.

Andrew has had a bit of a stressful day dealing with wedding stuff. His conclusion: I don't want to get married; I want to be married.

David's New Condo and Yvi's New Husband

David is opening the door to his new condo for the first time. He is starting medical school tomorrow too. Lots of changes for him at the moment, so pray for him if you think of him.


Yvi's wedding party

David and Gary rushed back from Houston to join us in attending the wedding of the daughter of close family friends. We've known Yvi and loved her like a daughter for nearly 20 years. The wedding was unusual in some respects. There were "bridespeople" and "groomspeople" instead of bridesmaids and groomsmen. There was no veil and no wedding cake. But there was beautiful music, the officiants were uncles of the couple, and the reception was lovely.



One part of the service that was extra special to us was the communion. The bride and groom served the bread to those in attendance. The communion set was one made by Gary's mother for our old church, now in our possession. And Yvi had asked me to bake the bread.


We wish Yvi and Scott the best as they start their new life together.


The new couple

Andrew is home

Life is very busy here at the moment.

David and Gary drove to Houston yesterday early to get there for a 10am closing on his condo. Gary had to sign too since we co-signed for the loan, but I didn't have to go along because I first signed a power of attorney letter so Gary could sign on my behalf. David was able to wire the funds from his internet bank to make the transaction. That was the good news. The bad news--he won't have any electricity until Wednesday. He starts med school orientation two days before that. He also was able to buy some furniture. At the moment, the two of them are driving back to Dallas and they had better get here in time for Yvi's wedding which starts at 4pm.

Rachel and I took the other car to DFW and picked Andrew up at 2pm. When I spotted him at the airport, I thought I was looking at Gary. Since Andrew has lost his hair, he looks like a skinny version of Gary. He came home, took a shower, and yakked for an hour before he left for Yvi's wedding rehearsal.

Rachel's friend, Kenny, came over last night and fixed Andrew's computer which was loaded with spyware and viruses. He urged him to use Firefox, not Internet Explorer, to prevent the problems in the first place.

So, we are really getting into wedding season now.

Update

The New York Times published an article about the Ethnologue today. Gary did a lot of work on helping the journalist, but his actual name got cut on the last edit.

I had a nice chat with Rachel today about her trip to LA. Thank you to those who prayed for her. She got home a day before I did. They had a good and safe time, and I think she learned a lot. She was the youngest one on the trip and her teammates thought she was a bit naive about life. They kept making fun of her every time she said, "I didn't know that." But I pointed out that at least she is learning new things, think of it that way. One nice thing they said to her when observing her work at the Boys' and Girls' clubs: "Rachel, you've chosen the right field. When you work with those kids, you just glow. They love you and respond so well to you." That was a good word of affirmation for her.

And speaking of Rachel and prayers, she has an interview on Monday for an aide job at one of the elementary schools in our home school district. Pray that God will give her peace during the interview process and lead her to the job he has for her.

My mom is sleeping in the Fellowship hall tonight in case the hurricane hits them too hard.

Condo

David just told me that the offer he made on the condo in Houston was accepted. After he pays all the closing costs, etc. he's going to be eating rice and beans and drinking Folgers instead of Starbucks. And since we ended up co-signing for him, I think the least he can do is actually move ALL his stuff out of my house and into his, don't you think?

Buttons

We've heard very briefly from Rachel. The group made it safely to LA last night. This morning they served breakfast at a homeless shelter. Then they were given $5 and told to "go help somebody." I'm anxious to hear more details about that.

David has talked his rich and soft parents into co-signing his mortgage loan so he can get a bigger place at a lower interest rate. So I had to spend part of today pulling together financial papers which we will fax in tomorrow. David's analysis of our kindness: "Yeah, mom, you get half of the liability and none of the asset."

I also went button shopping today at a unique store in our town. When you walk inside, you feel like you've stepped into a 1950s time-warp. They probably had 100,000 buttons to choose from, sorted into little containers by color. I needed two buttons, but couldn't make up my mind, so I bought four pairs while I was at it.

My faithful swimming partner is out of town, so I have to see if one of these boys will go to the pool with me.

In Phoenix

Rachel just phoned and said their group had made it as far as Phoenix safely. They will sleep in some church there tonight and head for LA tomorrow.

I've update my website with photos of my trip to Washington DC. Includes a photo of David and his girlfriend, if you're interested.

http://home.comcast.net/~linda.simons/may05dc.htm

Off to LA

Off to LA

Tonight Rachel and the singles group are having a sleepover at the church. That's because they are leaving at 4am tomorrow to drive to Los Angeles. They will be in downtown LA working in soup kitchens, food distribution places, and in Boys' and Girls' clubs M-F next week. Then they drive home next weekend. There are 4 boys and 4 girls going--but really I should be calling them men and women, shouldn't I?--they range in age from 24-33. They will be traveling in a 15-passenger van.

Please pray for their safety and effective ministry.

David drove to Houston and back yesterday. He found the condo he wants to buy; click here to see the realtor listing for it. Don't be deceived as I was by the first photo--half of that "room" is a mirror. If all goes well, he will be able to move in in about 10 days--which he needs to do to be ready for starting school on July 25.

I talked to Andrew today and was able to help him with a travel booking he was having trouble with.

Sushi Rolls

David got home at 3am. Thank you, Lord, for his safe trip. Right away he wanted to make dinner to show what he's been eating while living in DC.


First, put rice on the seaweed.


Add thinly sliced vegetables and fake crabmeat.


Use the gadget to roll it up.


Cut it into pieces.


Mommy, look what I made!


Closeup.

Everybody's Growing Up

Baby David called from DC today to ask my opinion of how he should treat a real estate agent from whom he is trying to buy a condo in Houston. He also told about his farewell party from NIH--he's getting an expensive, engraved stethoscope as a goodbye gift.

Andrew called yesterday and told about the house he and soon-to-be-wife Laura might buy in the DR, strictly as an investment. He was happy how his AIDS project was coming along, and finally got two pickups out of hock so he is now driving.

Rachel decided she was (just barely) brave enough to finish applying for a real teaching job. The location would be ideal, but her chances of actually getting it are probably pretty slim. She will turn in the last pieces of the application on Tuesday.

Gary returns tomorrow from Boston.

Happy Birthday to Me!

Ton's Mongolian BBQ

Today is my birthday. My sweet daughter greeted me with a "Happy Birthday" and a hug first thing this morning. That was nice, since Gary is out of town and it is just her and me home.

Yum!

We joined friends at my favorite restaurant for lunch. All went well until Rachel bit into something way spicier than she was expecting and turned purple.


Cards and gifts

I got lots of cute cards, a couple of nice gifts, and when we got back from Ton's, there were phone messages from my mom and from Gary. So I called my mom back and while I was talking to her on Rachel's cell phone, Andrew called from Ethiopia on the house phone. Had a nice chat with him, got caught up on his life and some of the wedding plans. (I'm sure David will remember to contact me too, but he's probably too busy running his electron microscope to call until later in the day...;-)

I am blessed, and I thank God for his graciousness to me.